Quest for Home
by SilencerRolf
Summary: 4 years have passed since arriving at the house in the clearing. Calvin, Hobbes and Susie find themselves living a mostly peaceful life. Until a tragic experiment goes wrong. Calvin then after that, swears that he will find the skills, experience and items to make everything right again.


The sun was setting, it's bright rays shined down upon a small house in a dense forest would soon be no more. The rays seemed to barely make it through the thick branches. It appeared to be a death trap for anyone unfortunate to wander in and get lost. The forest was home to other creatures as well. Bears and Wolves just to name a few. Perfect place to raise children don't you think?

However, there was someone living in this forest. Houses existed in the clearing of the forest. Two houses to be exact, one were abandoned and the other house looked as if it had much reconstruction.

"Calvin! Time for dinner!" An old woman with red hair yelled out into the woods. Her name was Lynn, and was the owner of the house. Lynn was short and about 55 in age. She had wrinkles along her face and long fingers. Her eyes were a blue in color and she had a sense for mechanics.

"Okay! Just a minute." A voice returned the shout. Clutched in his hand was a small stuffed tiger. "So how long are you going to stay out this time?" Another voice asked. "Our record is 6 minutes and 12 seconds before she comes out after us." Calvin responded looking at his watch. There was a slight chuckle in Calvin's voice as he spoke.

Calvin was short, and really short, even for his age. His messy blonde hair spiked up giving him his trademark look. He wore a red shirt with black stripes on it, and a dark red coat over it. He wore black pants that were still too long for him and red sneakers. He had dirt all over his face and a happy look on him.

"This doesn't seem like a good idea. They're having stew with tuna sandwiches on the side..." His friend muttered rubbing his stomach. "I hate tuna." Calvin muttered slouching making himself even shorter. "Calvin! Come in now!" Lynn shouted once more, her voice seemed to strike fear in even the strongest men in the country. Calvin appeared too ineffective towards it.

"Perhaps we pull the good old fashion lie? We're working on something that can get us back home?" Calvin asked his feline friend. Calvin waited for a response but received none. "Hobbes! I don't believe I'm getting your full attention!" The boy was very loud for such a small person. Suddenly Hobbes' eyes lit up and he turned his head back to his friend. "Wah?"

"Should we tell her we're working on something that can get us back home!?" Calvin shouted to get his attention. Hobbes remained silent for a few seconds. "When was the last time we tried?" He asked.

Calvin took a few seconds to think. "4 months I think. All the books on the Art don't have much in them regarding transport. You know how much I hate reading! With the exception of comics..." Calvin crossed his arms.

"Calvin! There you are!" Lynn yelled at them parting the bushes that they were hiding in. Calvin let out a slight squeal and jumped back a bit. "H-hello there." He managed to get out. Lynn just let out what sounded like a growl and grabbed Calvin by the collar of his shirt and proceeded to drag him back inside the house. "You can't do this, you old hag!" Calvin shouted trying to fight her.

Hobbes just followed behind snickering and trying not to laugh.

* * *

"I hate tuna..." Calvin muttered just staring at his meal with absolute disgust. "Even my own mother can prepare food better than you." He continued to mutter and whisper things to himself or Hobbes who was sitting next to him.

"I really wish you would stop carrying that stuffed tiger everywhere you went." Lynn told him through bites of her sandwich. Calvin snorted and responded. "Not a chance. He's too important to me!" Calvin broke his silence and raised his voice at Lynn. She just took a bite out of his sandwich once more. Very calmly in fact. "How is your arm? Feeling better?" She asked.

Calvin moved his right arm and held it with his left hand. "It's been... Better I guess." The sound of clinking metal could be heard as he moved his arm.

"Weren't you just complaining about it?" Hobbes asked while eating one of the sandwiches. The revolting stench of tuna was overwhelming to Calvin. "No! I was complaining about... My other arm!" Calvin protested trying to not make eye contact.

"What about your other arm?" Lynn asked not even opening her eyes. Calvin nearly jumped out of his seat realizing how loud he was being. As she finished eating she spoke once more. "I better have a look at it after dinner."

Calvin nearly screamed at the top of his lungs but restrained himself. "Oh... That's never fun." Hobbes mumbled through his 3rd sandwich. "I'll get my supplies ready. I'll get you after you're done with dinner." Lynn pulled herself up and walked upstairs.

"That old hag and her instruments of torture... Thanks a lot for bringing up my arm like that you doffus!" Calvin scolded his friend raising his arms in the air. "Look at the bright side, at least you've got another lovely lady to look after you." Hobbes grinned taking another bite of his sandwich.

"You mean Susie? That just makes it even worse! What are you saying!? I'm going to die in these god forsaken woods with Susie Derkins lobotomizing me! Woe is me! I cannot be subjected to these tortures! Have they read my rights!?" Calvin continued to freak out and speak words that probably couldn't be translated into English no matter how hard you tried.

"What about Arlyn? She's quite the babe." Hobbes grinned a very toothy grin, becoming lost in his thoughts.

"Arlyn!? That old hag's stepdaughter? She hates me more than Susie does! I cannot go through this! I've got to make a run for it!" Calvin bolted out of his chair and sprinted to the door, the color in his face drained.

"Don't you dare Calvin!" A young voice shouted from the stairs. Calvin froze and he looked terrified. Arlyn was standing on the stairs with all her gear on. Goggles and leather gloves. She was about twelve, two years older than Calvin and Susie. She had dark red hair, and a few freckles scattered across her nose. She was tall for her age and often looking down on others. Seriously, she has to look down on them. Mostly Calvin.

"I don't need you breaking that arm again! I've repaired it so many times I don't even want to think about it!" Arlyn looked furious and it showed in her eyes. Calvin was paralyzed with fear and he muttered something along the lines of 'Great Snow Demons have mercy on my soul...'

"Susie, Granma and me worked hard on making a metallic arm for you!" Arlyn yelled at Calvin. He sighed and removed his coat. Revealing that his right arm was really just a metallic false arm. "I hate this part..." Calvin mumbled walking up the stairs.

"If you're lucking we might make it lighter and maybe you'll grow taller." Arlyn stated continuing to climb the stairs. Calvin stopped, he didn't look scared anymore. He looked furious. "I'm not short! I'm still growing you moron!" Calvin's spiky hair appeared to spike up even more than before.

"Whatever shorty, let's just go and get this over with."

* * *

"First Tuna and Stew and now this... Why me!?" Calvin moaned as he lay down and his right arm was resting on an iron platform. The platform had numerous dents and scratches on it. Calvin hated this room; it's where they had attached his new arm. At first he was excited to get a new arm made of metal, this way he'd be strong without having to work at all.

It really was hell though to get through the attachment. He wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. He hated all the repairing and adjusting. The tinkering, oiling, wiring, adjustments, repairs, the aches and worst of all, it makes the blonde child short. 5 years he's had to deal with this.

"Ready Calvin?" Lynn asked him. He nodded and closed his eyes. Suddenly a jolt of pain tore across his right arm socket. He cringed and held back tears. Then in a few seconds, it was gone. Calvin breathed a sigh of relief. He opened his eyes to see the two women opening the false limb with screwdrivers and wrenches. There were other devices, such as saws, wires, electrical tape, a few spare parts and other things that Calvin didn't even know the name of.

The room was lit up good and the window outside was nice. The darkness of the forest was intimidating but was the sort of environment Calvin felt at home with. (As long as he wasn't out there.)

"Okay, you've snapped a few of the wires and broke some of the steel rods in the shoulder. This could take a few hours to fix, go and entertain yourself." Arlyn told him not taking her eyes off the false limb.

"Good! Time to get the heck out of here!" Calvin jumped up and put his shirt back on and bolted out of the room. Arlyn and Lynn were always amazed at just how fast he could run. "How does such a short person run with such small legs?" The two swore that they heard a "I'm not short!" in the distance.

Calvin felt lost without his right arm. In some ways it was a relief not to have it. The memories of losing it were too much guilt on Calvin's mind. Hobbes had suffered much more than he had but... Suddenly an idea just entered his head that pushed out the guilt for a second. He climbed the stairs once more and opened the door.

Finally a way for his genius to shine. "Hello ladies, I believe I will be able to help!" Calvin came in with a smug look in his eyes and a stupid grin on his lips. "No reconstruction arts."

"Hey! Why not?" Calvin protested as usual. "Do you recall what happened the last time you tried to reconstruct your arm back to normal?" Arlyn turned her head to look at him. Calvin suddenly felt his face go red. "Yeah... But I was so close! Let me try again!"

Arlyn gave him a strange look. "We had to make one from scratch... Again." She then turned her attention back to the arm. "Say... Where is Susie? She'll usually really good at getting home early."

"Maybe this is an exception." Calvin mumbled. "Maybe... You better go and look for her. You can still hold a torch with one arm." Arlyn smirked a smile of pure glee to be sending Calvin in the dark woods alone.

"Fine... Wait what? I have to find Susie?! What did I do to deserve this?" Calvin demanded with his arms flailing about. "You tried to help, now go!"

"Stupid girls... Always getting me in trouble." Calvin moped and put his jacket on. His jacket was a dark red in color; the fabric was extremely soft but still very durable and smooth. Calvin turned to Hobbes. "You're coming with me right?" He asked Hobbes while he gathered a torch from the nearby closet and placing it on a desk.

"Of course! You need a powerful animal to be your guide!" Hobbes boasted and got up from his chair. "By the way. You really should stop carrying around that stuffed tiger all the time. Something could happen to it..." Hobbes pointed to the stuffed tiger that Calvin was holding very closely to him. "I know... But... If I stop, people will get suspicious. And I.. I want to make sure it's safe for when I get you back to normal." Calvin told him holding the stuffed animal close to him with his one good arm.

"I can still remember what happened to you Hobbes." Calvin whispered out to his friend. His eyes saddened with memories of what happened to his poor friend. Hobbes held his side with uncertainty. The duo stood there in that doorway for a little while. "Well... Water under the bridge, right?" Hobbes told him. Calvin brightened up and looked his companion in the eye. "Right. I'll figure out a way to get you back to normal, Hobbes!" Calvin placed the stuffed tiger under his arm and lit the torch with a switch on its side. The tip of the torch lit up with a bright light. "Impressive isn't it?" Hobbes stated.

"I suppose... Come on. Let's go and find Susie." Calvin exclaimed. "Hmm... It's begun to rain. We should be careful."

* * *

"Susie! Where are you?" Hobbes called out into the night. "This reminds me of when I went out looking for you when we tried to go to the Yukon." Calvin chuckled while holding a flashlight and looking into the darkness. "I remember that! Oh! That was quite the incident wasn't it!?" Hobbes chuckled and laughed remembering old memories. Calvin returned the chuckle. "Yeah, Dad had to go and look for you!"

"I walked back in the night. Your dad is just making up stories to impress you!" Hobbes turned his nose upward for a few seconds. Calvin gave him a smug look tilting his head down. Hobbes then returned the smile. "Of course, we'll have to leave it to the historians to decide who is correct." The tiger laughed and continued their search. "Can you smell her?" Calvin asked him. "Girls smell, you should be able to find her."

"They smell very nice. Unlike SOME people..." Hobbes rolled his eyes as he lifted his nose in the rain. "No good. I can't smell much in this weather... Accept for you." Hobbes chuckled at his joke. "Hey! I heard that!" Calvin jolted up at the comment. In a sudden moment of terror, they heard a shriek in the distance. "Was that... Susie?" Calvin asked Hobbes. "Sure sounded like her."

Calvin and Hobbes dashed at the sound. The slippery mud was quite... well... Slippery. The mud caught on their feet and made them trip slightly. Not quite enough to push them over though. The darkness combined with the rain made navigating very difficult for both man and tiger.

The screaming continued to get louder and louder. They were getting much closer to Susie Derkins. Hobbes suddenly started to growl and lurch his back. His fur was spiking and bristling. There was something there. "Susie!" Calvin shouted into the darkness. There was no answer. The screaming had stopped and another growl could be heard. A small voice was in the wind. He couldn't make it out though. Calvin continued to run towards the sound with torch in hand lighting the way.

"SUSIE!" Calvin screamed once again. He was terrified now. What if something had happened to her? What was growling? Questions swarmed his head like a hive of angry bees. Angry Bees? Someone should make a game out of that. Who would the enemies be? Maybe... Bears! Wait... That's a bear! An angry bear!

Calvin had just realized that he was about a dozen meters away from a large bear. It was growling and roaring at them. Calvin dropped his torch out of pure fear and started to back away. Suddenly a small voice got his attention. "C-Calvin?" Susie was lying against a tree, she looked pale but unhurt. Calvin ran his hand through his pocket and pulled out a small knife. "Y-You can't f-fight it..." Susie muttered out to him.

"She's right! Damn! If only I could do something!" Hobbes was snarling and growling as much as he could. He even took a few jabs at the bear. The bear though, appeared to be unaffected by this. Calvin was looking slightly more confident. "I'm not planning on fighting it with knife." On his lips grew a smug, confident and overall Calvin like smirk.

Hobbes then turned to his short ally. "Oh... I see. Quickly! Do it!" Calvin took a few steps towards a tree. The bear was still standing there kicking up mud and dirt. Roaring the whole time. Calvin then started to carve something into the tree. It was a symbol of some sorts. There was a line going up with a slight curve at the top. A triangle going across the whole thing. And a few circles scattered about. He finished with a Crescent Moon symbol right in the middle.

"Okay Mr or Miss Bear. Brace yourself!" Calvin slammed his palm against the symbol. The markings began to glow a white light. Calvin looked at the bear with an unusual amount of focus. Suddenly the light disappeared and the tree seemed to be moving. Suddenly, the bear was hit in the face with a wooden fist. The tree seemed to have been morphed into a giant fist.

The bear was launched into the air by this attack. It fell to the muddy floor, completely unconscious. Calvin then sighed with relief. "Finally I can relax again!" Calvin begun to gasp for air. Hobbes stood up again and examined the fist which had now fallen to the ground after being launched. "Your best work yet!" Hobbes patted his friend on the shoulder. "I'll say. We should probably go home now." Calvin stood up straight and turned. "I feel like I'm forgetting something..."

"H-Hey..." Susie whispered from where she was. Calvin and Hobbes jumped up and rushed to her side. "Hey... Are you okay?" Calvin asked her. "Y-Yeah... Just a bit. Petrified..." She managed to get out through her tears. "She's lucky. That bear was pretty big." Hobbes turned his head to Calvin. "But I sure showed that dumb bear who's boss! Right Susie?" Calvin held his fist up in triumph.

Suddenly they heard another noise. A groaning coming from the bear. "Oh crap we're in trouble now aren't we..." Calvin muttered with his legs beginning to shake. "Grab Susie! Let's get out here!" Hobbes exclaimed in a fright. Calvin turned to the pale Susie and was unsure what to do. "I can't lift her over my head Hobbes! What do you think I should do! I've got one arm!" Calvin just grabbed her hand and helped her up. "Er... Uh... I'm not sure!" Hobbes stated holding his head in confusion.

"Come on Derkins! Stay with me! We've got to get out of here!" Susie had her arm around Calvin's shoulder as he attempted to run. It was pretty slow attempting to run and holding Susie up at the same time. "Hurry up! It's starting to get up!" Hobbes was scrambling about with his tail all fuzzy. "Don't rush me! I've got a half dead Susie Derkins over here!" Calvin blurted out.

In about 2 minutes. They had covered enough land that the bear seemed not to follow. "I... I think it's gone!" Hobbes stated looking behind them. "If I had both my arms..." Calvin started to speak.

"The fact is that you don't Calvin." Susie mumbled. "Don't you start! Wait... Susie? You're awake?" Calvin looked at the girl with widen eyes of surprise. "Yep... Sorry I made you go through all that." Susie told him looking into his eyes. Calvin suddenly felt the temperature rise.

"It-It's fine. Glad to be a hero!" Calvin blushed, but luckily the cold rain stopped him. "Calvin and Susie sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S Ohmygod! The bear!" Hobbes screamed and pointed as the bear charged towards them. Calvin and Susie both screamed and started to sprint away. It was cold and difficult to run. The bear was catching up to them very quickly. Both their lungs hurt from running so quickly and it certainly slowed them down even more. "This can't be the end!" Susie screamed into the wind.

The bear was almost on them. Calvin could hear it breathing now. "No... I've got too much to do! I need to bring Hobbes back completely! I need to get my arm back! I need to find a way back home!" Calvin could feel those dreams fading away until...

A loud bang filled their ears.

The bear feel to the ground. This time. For good. Calvin was in shock for a second before coming to his senses. "Oh my gosh..." Calvin turned to see the bear. Blood was pooling out of the bears skull and onto the muddy ground. "That was... Exciting." Calvin fell to his knees and gasped for air. Susie included.

"Ex... Exciting!? We almost died!" Susie turned to Calvin with a harsh voice. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood!" Calvin shouted back gasping the whole time. "You kids okay?" A man's voice echoed in their ears. "Yeah... Just tired." Susie responded and turned to see their savior.

He had dirty blonde hair and rich brown eyes. His clean and organized hair was hidden under a hat and he had a thick coat on. It was difficult to see him in the rain though. His eyes were very striking though. "Thank you... For shooting that bear." Susie thanked him for the shooting. "That certainly was... Very accurate shooting." Hobbes nervously told the man who couldn't hear him.

"Shoot? I didn't shoot the bear." He told them very calmly. "You didn't? Then what did you do?" Calvin asked him with one eye brow raised. He laughed softly. "I used the Reconstruction Arts to condense the rain down into a single drop and the loud bang was the sound of the air being used to force the single drop to collide with the bear. Not a bad shot huh?" The man explained to them. Calvin looked at the man with quite a lot of interest.

"Amazing! You must be a master of the Reconstruction Arts!" Calvin praised the man. Hobbes looked at Calvin with wide eyes. Calvin praising someone other than himself? "Well... Erm... Where do you children live?" He changed the subject. Hobbes was slightly concerned by this but passed it off as nothing.

"We live in a clearing of the forest. It should be just around here." Susie told him. "I'll see you to your house. Could be more bears around here. I should introduce myself. My name is Issac von Lille."


End file.
